The present invention broadly relates to support means for two-wheeled vehicles and, more specifically, pertains to a new and improved construction of a supporting stand or kick stand for a bicycle or a moped or the like.
Generally speaking, the support or kick stand of the present invention is of the type mounted at the two-wheeled vehicle, usually in the vicinity of and typically behind the drive sprocket bearing. This support or kick stand has two support legs capable of being pivoted downward and locked into a substantially upright supporting position for supporting the two-wheeled vehicle stably in an essentially upright position and preventing it from tipping over or rolling away. When the two-wheeled vehicle is in operation, the support legs of the support or kick stand can be pivoted upward to assume a compact rest or idle position defining a storage position where such support legs do not interfere with the operation of the vehicle.
In its more particular aspects the inventive support or kick stand for a two-wheeled vehicle is of the type comprising a pivot block or head intended to be mounted behind the drive sprocket bearing of the vehicle. In such pivot block or head there are pivotably mounted two support legs or leg members operatively coupled with one another to perform a common or conjoint pivotal motion. These two support legs are moveable between a spring-loaded rest or idle position where the support legs bear against one another while essentially in a horizontal position, and a spring-loaded support position where the support legs are essentially upright and spread from one another. One of the support legs is mounted upon a pivot shaft or axle. Furthermore, in the part of its pivoting motion preceding the support position of this one support leg, the other support leg can be brought into a spread position by means of a path-dependently effective spreading device.
In comparison with the so-called single-legged support stands or kick stands generally only used for bicycles, two-legged support stands of the aforementioned type have the advantage that they support the bicycle or moped or the like with its central plane in a substantially vertical position and usually lift one of the wheels of the bicycle slightly off the ground. One-legged bicycle support stands are not always able to provide the supported bicycle or moped with a sufficient degree of stability in the parked position, especially on sloping ground or terrain.
A bicycle stand of the general type heretofore discussed is known from the French Patent Publication No. 2,293,353, filed Dec. 3, 1974, especially FIGS. 4 to 6 thereof. This support stand overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of single-legged bicycle stands, but only by accepting other disadvantages. In this known two-legged support stand the spreading or opening action between the two legs of the support stand is effected by the mutual interaction of two springs during the pivoting motion of the support legs out of the rest or idle position. The springs act upon parts of their respectively associated support legs lying between the pivot axis and the free end thereof. In these known support stands, one of the springs is structured as a tension spring and is accessible from the outside and therefore subject to dirt and damage. The second support leg, which spreads away from the first support leg, is mounted on a separate pivot shaft fixed to the first support leg and substantially perpendicular to but not intersecting the pivot axis. An extension of this second support leg carries a knob or cam boss which engages and cooperates with a guide or cam groove provided at the outside of the housing of the pivot bearing. A spreading spring is coiled about the axis of the second, spreadable support leg and tends to force or spread this support leg away from the other, non-spreading support leg, i.e. tends to maintain the aforementioned knob or cam boss in constant contact with the guide or cam groove. As the legs of the support stand are pivoted out of their rest or idle position into the supporting position the spreading or bracing support leg will follow, respectively deviate from, the motion of the first, non-spreading support leg as dictated by the configuration of the guide or cam groove. If the spreading spring weakens or becomes fatigued then the spreading action is no longer assured. The knob or cam boss and the guide or cam groove are also accessible from the outside in this known support stand and are therefore also subject to dirt or fouling and damage.